Blogs

Through the Bible, the cornerstone of our faith, we know the stories of God's efforts to communicate with creation and of creation's response. God communicates through rainbows and burning bush, through earthquakes and fire, and through the still small voice. We pray that God will speak through us as we tell new stories of the faith, life and mission found in Christ's church.

Recent Posts

At its annual meeting from March 5-10, the Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates (PCC) sought to clarify for both examinees and readers the standards of evaluation for determining whether a particular exam submission satisfies the requirement of G-2.0607d in the respective area of examination (and, thus, receives a “Satisfactory” [S] evaluation). This clarification of the standards was in response to a pattern of increased reliance upon direct citation of source materials since the Church Polity, Theological Competence, and Worship and Sacraments exams joined the Bible Exegesis exam as “open book” tests in the second half of 2014 ...

After a time of rest, this blog will be refreshed with content in this new year and new time in the life of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United States in its various contexts. We'd love to hear from you about the topics of most concern around issues of representation and inclusion in our councils.

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Today the Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates (PCC) has officially launched a new resource to assist in preparing for the Bible Content Examination. All inquirers and candidates registered by their presbyteries with the Office of the General Assembly may use their accounts on the exams website (https://exams.pcusa.org) to access a special course on the PC(USA) Training site.

As initially announced in a press release on April 6, this course includes updated guidance from the PCC’s Handbook to the Standard Ordination Examinations regarding the structure of and preparation strategies for taking the BCE, a ...

At a previously scheduled meeting on September 8-9, 2016, the Executive Committee of the Presbyteries' Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates (PCC) had extended discussion about the results of the most recent Bible Content Examination (BCE). The following is their response to concerns about the exam from across the church, issued with the concurrence of the full PCC:

As part of its regularly scheduled fall meeting, members of the Executive Committee of the Presbyteries’ Cooperative Committee on Examinations for Candidates (PCC) gave extended time and discussion to reviewing the results of the September 2, 2016, Bible Content Examination (BCE) along ...

This is approximately my 96th monthly column. It is the bookend for my eight years of writing these columns. I want to thank you for sharing your stories with me. You have trusted me with your joys and challenges in conversations across the congregations and mid council bodies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Please know that each of your stories has impacted me and will always remain part of my understanding of faith. What follows is my journey of faith that I prepared as part of my reentry into the Presbytery of East Tennessee.